Abstract

In this paper we consider the onset of shimmy oscillations of an aircraft nose landing gear. To this end we develop and study a mathematical model with torsional and lateral bending modes that are coupled through a wheel-mounted elastic tyre. The geometric effects of a positive rake angle are fully incorporated into the resulting
five-dimensional ordinary differential equation model. A bifurcation analysis in terms of the forward velocity and the vertical force on the gear reveals routes to different types of shimmy oscillations. In
particular, we find regions of stable quasiperiodic shimmy where both modes are fully excited.